If you get tired of shopping, want a break or are waiting for someone, while at the Greenhills Shopping Centre in Maitland NSW Australia, the area outside the food hall is a great option. Not only are there places for the kids to play, and tables and chairs to sit and eat at but there are some great sculptures located there. Spread throughout the area Animal March Sculptures, represents local wildlife. Made by Gillie and Marc you can find them either in the garden beds or around the tables.
The largest ones are of wombats, koalas and kangaroos, but if you look closely, you will find birds, turtles and possums. A great addition to the centre, it certainly adds interest to the area while showing the native animals that we need to care for.
A Family of WombatsMother and Baby KoalaKoala FamilyKangaroos with a Joey in the Mother’s PouchWombat and KangarooPossumsTurtlesLost WombatKookaburras
One of the prime attractions in Port Stephens is the Koala Sanctuary. Not only does it allow you to see koalas, but it rehabilitates injured ones, while providing a place to live for those that cannot be returned to the wild.
Accommodation
An excellent accommodation option for the Port Stephens region are the cabins available at the sanctuary. This allows visitors to see the koalas in the evenings and mornings when they are more active.
Accommodation
Koala Sculptures
After paying for your entry, a path leads through a number of large koala sculptures. As you walk along the path, most sculptures also have an information board helping you understand the koalas, their habitat and the threats to their survival.
This is a great educational opportunity and is especially good for children.
Koala Sculpture
Koala Hospital
Before reaching the viewing area, you pass the hospital where injured koalas are treated. A window allows you to see into the treatment room and we were lucky enough to see one there, along with the vet and his assistants.
Koalas
Only koalas that are unable to be rehabilitated back to the wild are on display. Koalas that have undergone surgery and are being rehabilitated are housed in separate enclosures. Each kolas has its own information board detailing how it came to the sanctuary and what injuries it was suffering.
Because we arrived in the middle of the day they were not very active, but were able to see most of them. stationed here were two volunteers who gave talks on the koalas and the work of the sanctuary.
Information Board about the koalaKoala information boardA Kookaburra
What Did We Think?
This was a great visit and would recommend it to anyone wanting to see or learn about koalas. It’s similar to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital although larger and offering onsite accommodation.
Located all over Port Macquarie and its surrounding districts on the NSW mid-north coast, the Hello Koalas Sculpture Trail is a fun way to find your way around town. With many businesses and attractions sponsoring one or more of the sculptures it’s also a great way to make finding them more fun.
Each sculpture is hand-painted by Australian artists, featuring environmental, wellbeing, heritage or cultural designs.
We had fun finding them around town because they are often painted to fit it with the business that sponsors them. The koala outside the courthouse is a convict, while the ones at the Glasshouse Arts and Visitor is Lady Lola the Dancing Koala.
Hello Koalas Gift Shop
Located at Shop 16, 10 Bellbowrie Street in Port Macquarie, the Hello Koalas Gift Shop had around 17 koala sculptures waiting to find a home. This was a great visit, with lots of photos taken and souvenirs bought.
Here we also learned that they advocate to raise awareness of the importance of protecting our koalas and environment. As part of the national organisation Arts and Health Australia, funds raised from projects and events are distributed among essential environmental causes.
It’s an excellent way to promote the town, with large local population of koalas while raising awareness of the koalas’ plight. Threatened by land clearing for roads and houses, vehicle strikes, dog attacks, disease, drought and climate change, koalas face an uncertain future. The recent bushfires highlighted the dangers that koalas face.
Lion LeoKalidoMini-Koalasaurus MaxThe Mayor of Koala RepublicWinnie the UnicornOlly The Blue Eyed BoyGranny SquareTopiaryTully the Celtic KoalaPrincess LasiandraMandy the Mandala KoalaElvisRanger RileyKoala BoyRadiant HeartAugie the CyclistBushbyStarry SoulCrusader KoalaKoalasaurus MaxBuzzy BeeI’m No BearFlying FifieCon Koala outside the CourthouseBenjamin The Return of the Thylacine outside ABC Mid-North Coast
Sandy Paws at PanthersLady Lola the Dancing KoalaPK SparklesForestKoala NoirLachlan MacquarieBerry Delicious at Ricardoes Tomatoes & StrawberriesSunshine at the Koala Hospital
To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.
